Archive for chili dogs

This is a chili dog from the Original Nathan’s, a mammoth hot dog stand / beefy mecca at Coney Island, a beach at the very tip of Brooklyn. You see this place every year during the hot dog eating championship, with several crazies in the foreground dipping dogs into water and scarfing them down.

The question: Is it worth a trip here to eat one of the original Originals? The answer, no. While the vaguely industrialized beach amusement is a great atmosphere for eating, the fact is the hot dogs are no better than ones you buy in the package at the grocery store and heat up yourself. The chili was disappointing and the fries were nothing special. I recommend that you go down the shore to Brighton Beach instead, to one of the Russian supper clubs. There you can have an ungodly amount of meat while drinking more vodka and listening to more bad cover songs than you ever thought possible.

An imposing network of fat expressways feeds the protein of the city of Atlanta to its the exurban sprawl. Those travelling these acres in turn need sustenance; much of it is provided by an expansive fast food standard known as The Varsity. A model of sprawl itself, this drive-in restaurant boasts dining room after dining room of bright lights and perfectly greasy food. Imagine an entire state fair’s worth of food, enclosed and suspended above a network of highways, and you’d be close to what you find wandering around The Varsity. When I was there, on a quiet Saturday night, it was positively eerie to see so many empty rooms sitting ready to host so many souls seeking enlightened combinations of chili and cheese.

On the other hand, you get a free hat. That’s pretty nifty.

The menu differentiates between “chili dog” and “heavy chili dog” – need I say more? All the meat comes fresh every day (never frozen like the typical franchise slumhole), and you can tell. On top of all that meaty goodness, the French fries and onion rings are absolutely amazing, especially the fries – classic American style, no messing around. One warning: the portions are small, so get two of whatever you order. Is it good for you? No. But it’s so much better than eating another lifeless QPw/C as you barrel across the grey landscape of another American city bulging unchecked. Support quality fast food and eat at places like The Varsity.